[Constitutional] AIP: Stylus Activation Contract

Stylus is Arbitrum’s contract environment on Arbitrum One, and this proposal comes after a pause on new activations by the Security Council on 2/10/2026. A constitutional AIP is a governance step that changes how the network handles contract activation, rather than a routine software update. The Foundation’s role in signing approved contracts would sit alongside the existing Arbitrum DAO structure.

For builders, the practical change is that new Stylus activations would no longer be fully open if this passes, because Foundation sign-off would sit in the approval path. Existing deployed contracts and renewals would still continue without that gate, so current users would not face the same process for those cases. That splits the system into a permissioned path for new activations and a permissionless path for what is already live.

Arbitrum is trying to balance security review with open access, which is a familiar trade-off in blockchain governance. The proposal keeps the DAO involved by preserving the option to revoke the Foundation’s authority, rather than handing over permanent control. It also shows how an ecosystem can move from emergency restrictions toward a narrower approval model without fully returning to unrestricted activation.

What remains unresolved is whether the proposal will be approved and how the limited security audit standard will be applied in practice. The materials do not say when any renewed activations would begin or what specific criteria the Foundation would use beyond that audit step. The outcome would matter for anyone building on Stylus, but the final governance decision is still open.